Hayley O’Keeffe

A determined dad who lives every day with a progressive muscle wasting condition is set to take on the challenge of a lifetime this weekend.

Martin Hywood, 42, a father of three from Aylesbury has limb girdle muscular dystrophy, which causes his muscles to weaken and then waste over time.

He will eventually suffer from severe disability as the condition gets worse, but this weekend he is putting all of that to one side - to climb Mount Snowdon. And Martin will not be on his own in the challenge, which is raising money for Muscular Dystrophy UK - more than 30 supportive friends and family members will be there too to cheer him on.

Martin said: “This climb is an enormous challenge for me.

“But I consider myself lucky, as other types of muscular dystrophy can severely affect children from when they are very young.

“For me, it is a heart-breaking condition that takes away young lives, so with all the determination I can muster, I’m going to try and do my bit to support Muscular Dystrophy UK.

“My aims are to keep myself moving, to take others with me and to show that - if I can you can too.

“And - obviously raise funds and awareness along the way.”

Jess Bolton, of Muscular Dystrophy UK, said: “We are immensely grateful to Martin and his team for taking on a tremendous challenge and helping to get us one step closer to treatments in our fight against muscular dystrophy.”